


Miscellaneous Post Between the Lights Drabbles

by kohotli



Category: Nobilis - Jenna Moran
Genre: Between The Lights, Drabble, Gen, Post-Game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22364635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kohotli/pseuds/kohotli
Summary: Saul Ravid, Power of Metaphors finds his way back to the Locus Kethredamen after disappearing from everyone's life for several years. Has he turned against the world? Or does he want to reclaim his rightful place?





	1. Borders

**Author's Note:**

> I played Sonja Aronsdottir (and later Saul Ravid) in the campaign Between The Lights run by OJ. She's written up some excellent summaries of the sessions if you want to get some context for the events mentioned in the chapters. Please do poke around in https://jennafans.dreamwidth.org/tag/between+the+lights and you won't be disappointed ^_^

The words that Saul Ravid whisper to the small elderly woman on the other end of the market stand aren’t easy to write down in English. Or Latin. Or German. Or any other language of Creation. All the same she nods and gestures for him to walk into the door of her small diner. There’s employees managing packaging for small groceries, making street food, managing scheduling. Nothing about it seems amiss beyond the well-built Israeli man with unusual eyes in South Korea. Then he walks through the curtains.

It’s a noisy casino inside. Well-dressed people of all sorts playing all sorts of gambling games. Oddly enough the walls are lined with books like the most immaculate library you could imagine and everybody is tended to by brass automatons. “It’s been a long time,” one of the more familiar automatons says to Saul as he walks in. “You take Metaphors and vanish into the aether. Gone for years. Not even Kethredamen can find you. And now you walk back in here like nothing has happened. You have some nerve.”

“This is still my chancel, even if I don’t return on a regular basis.” Saul stretches and looks around. “Glad to see nothing has changed.”

“Kethredamen is going to be furious when he finds out you’re here.”

Saul shrugs. “It’s not my problem that Keith makes poor decisions about who to bestow his estates to. Did Maddie ever learn to say ‘fuck’?”

The automaton whirs and hums. “I see time has yet tempered your attitude. Are you here for a reason or just to cause trouble?”

“Jamie I’m hurt. Can’t a man just want to come home for a few minutes?” Saul pouts in an exaggerated fashion.

“You? No.” The automaton, apparently named Jamie, rotates and reconfigures. “Please be personable or leave. There’s been rumors, you know. That you’re a traitor.”

“Was that a joke before then? The ‘temper’ thing?”

“Saul.”

“No, I’m not a traitor. I’m… I don’t know what I am. But I’m not a traitor.” Saul shakes his head. “I did some soul-searching Jamie. Honestly. I didn’t think I’d ever get better after what happened to Sonja. Somehow I think I’ve found my way.” He puts his hands in his pockets and fidgets uncomfortably. “I’m. I’m thinking about coming home. For good.” This is spoken at barely a whisper, so as not to go spreading word amongst the others lurking nearby.

This results in some shocked silence from Jamie. That wasn’t the news it was expecting to hear. “I’ll go inform Lord Kethredamen.”


	2. "No. Absolutely not."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saul talks about bringing in a sad Rider kid. Jamie is having none of it.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“He’s a good kid Jamie. Everybody has met him and likes him! He’s just had a bad life and needs a guiding hand.”

Jamie shakes its animatronic head. The brass automaton has received a few upgrades in the past few years since it has had to take on Saul’s role as the one who primarily works with the public. “No way are you bringing a Warmain into our house. You broke when what happened with Sonja. What happens to you when he inevitably does all the usual Warmain things? This could be a trick for all we know, maybe he’s trying to fully pull you over to their side.”

“Please. Elaborate on ‘usual Warmain things’. I’d love to hear more about what you think All Warmains Do.”

“You know damn well what I mean.” Jamie’s metallic voice rises in pitch and volume, beginning to attract the attention of those who might eavesdrop. “What happens when he starts testing people? What if he tries to temper someone?”

“Michael’s a teenager!”

“So is Maddie.”

“Okay, you want to talk about Maddie? Let’s talk about Maddie for a second. She set the library on fire way more times than we care to admit. She has forced tons of people to participate in her spelling bees. Don’t even get me started on that incident with the flour.”

“Do you have any idea what I’ve had to deal with while you were gone? What Maddie and her mother has been up to? I’m not like you Saul, I’m not a Power. I don’t have that weight or impact. As far as I can tell I’m the only one interested in the long-term stability of Our House. Now you’re back from abandoning your responsibilities for years and now you’re going to throw another thing that might cause everything I have worked for to topple? Now you’re wanting to add one more crazy teenager to a House that feels close to collapsing?”

Jamie points a metallic finger at Saul’s chest. Its servos and gears whir in anger. “No absolutely not. No more external interference. No more Excrucians coming in and killing our kids. Because that’s what you’re doing isn’t it? Sonja trusted Anze Torquill and it got her killed. Near as I can tell you’re making the same mistake. What if it’s Maddie this time? No. More.”

Saul’s shoulders slump a little bit at the sound of that. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Still gonna bring him in, if only for a trial. If he starts causing trouble I’ll handle it and take full responsibility, I swear. Just give him a week. You’ll see he’s just a sad kid who wants to hide in his room from everyone.”

“...one week. He gets one week and if he puts so much as a toe out of line, he has to leave. And I’ll be watching him like a hawk.” Jamie doesn’t have a face, but everything about him looks exhausted. An automaton’s work is never done.


End file.
